Overview: Brian Billick: A genius in goat's clothing?

Baltimore Raven head coach Brian Billick has always been viewed as a rather pompous and egotistical individual. However, in the same breath, he has also been viewed as an extraordinarily gifted offensive mastermind. Well this season it would appear that the former fits more than the latter.

In the off-season, Billick tossed away QB Trent Dilfer like he was yesterday’s news. Sure Dilfer didn’t put up big numbers, but all he did was guide his team to 12 straight victories and was behind center to help the Ravens become World Champions. Well coach Billick felt it was time to search for that prototypical quarterback. You know the one! Tall, a strong arm and one that will open up the passing game. Well he went out to sign Elvis Grbac away from the Kansas City Chiefs and told everybody who would listen that this signing was one of the biggest coos in football. Well after nine games it would appear that Elvis has "left the building". The Raven pivot has tossed just nine touchdowns, compared to a whopping 13 interceptions. He is coming off a five-turnover performance on Sunday, four coming via the interception. As each week goes by, it becomes more and more apparent that Grbac is not the answer. Instead of making a change however for backup Randall Cunningham, it would appear that the Raven head coach is more worried about showing people he make the right decision when he signed Grbac in the off-season.

Obviously the lack of a running game has hindered Grbac and the entire aerial attack, as Jamal Lewis has been sidelined with injuries. However if you look at the big picture, it would once again be Mr. Billick that has been the main culprit in weakening this particular area. You see, if this individual was so damn smart, wouldn’t he have realized how injury-prone Lewis has been over the years and that he has already been caught once for violating the league’s substance abuse policy. With that being said, you would have thought that this self proclaimed "genius" would have known to keep backup running back Priest Holmes just in case something happened to Lewis. Well guess what? Billick in his infinite wisdom decided to part ways with Holmes, putting all his eggs in one basket with Lewis. Now however, the Baltimore back has once again been sidelined with injuries for much of the season and while sitting out to nurse these said injuries, he was caught once again with his hands in the drug jar, suspended now until December 17th.

Coach. Don’t worry about trying to show people how smart you are. Trust me when I say you haven’t fooled me one bit. You were not the reason your team won the Super Bowl last season. It was the defense, led by coordinator Marvin Lewis, that was the catalysts in capturing the Championship. I know this is a tough pill to swallow, especially for somebody that was so highly regarded coming into Raven camp. You were touted as one of the greatest offensive masterminds in the history of football, making the Minnesota Vikings one of the most potent offensive teams in the NFL. You just couldn’t stand anybody else getting the accolades for last year’s accomplishments. You wanted people to see that you were the reason for the Super Bowl ring and with that being said, you thought you could build a similar potent offense to that of the Vikings. Folks don’t be blind. Billick had nothing to do with Minnesota being an offensive juggernaut. Randy Moss, Cris Carter, Robert Smith et al, made this squad the most potent offensive attack in football. Billick just happened to be the leader of the troops.

Okay Brian, so you screwed up. So you thought Grbac could do what Dilfer couldn’t (though I still don’t understand how you can be any better than Super Bowl Champions). So you decided to get rid of any sort of running back insurance you had in Priest Holmes, figuring that Lewis would stay healthy for an entire season. Just do what’s best for the team and don’t worry about that big ego of yours. You know something Mr. Billick. For somebody who has been touted as a football mastermind like yourself, you certainly are a FEW TOMATOS SHORT OF A THICK SAUCE.

Visit Steve Zukiel's GridIronPics.com